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dishwasher height & flooring issue

8 years ago

My husband and I purchased our home this year and the existing dishwasher wasn't working upon move in. We picked out a dishwasher from Lowe's and had them send out a plumber to measure to make sure it would fit - and it won't! The previous owners put in new flooring that only goes up to the old dishwasher. They did have a smaller size that they thought may work but it was more expensive and our options were limited.
I'm not sure what the best route to go is? Does it do any good to get new countertops? I do NOT like the counters we have (they are turquoise) and would like to replace them eventually. But if we put in a new dishwasher while the counters are being replaced that puts us back in the same position if we ever need to replace it again right? Any ideas or do we need to take out the flooring?

Featured Answer

lenzai

8 years ago

Can you take out just a little of the flooring by where the dishwasher is and then replace. THis will not solve your overall problem.

Maybe someone has a creative solution but I think in order to not have this problem again, all the cabinets have to be jacked up the thickness of the flooring so that you can wheel out the dishwasher again. Do you have the same problem with the fridge?

If you replace the counters, then make sure you lift all the cabinets up onto plywood or something else the thickness of your flooring.

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Comments (9)

PRO
Joe Henderson
8 years ago
This is relatively common. Your option is to redo or alter the flooring or get an ADA height machine. Or raise the counters as lenzai said. There are a bunch of them out there. Asko, Bosch and Miele make the best of them. Blomberg makes a decent one for not too much money. The GE,Whirlpool, Frigidaire and others are Chinese made and aren't great units.
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Ahhhhh Patricia beat me to it. A hardwood floor (solid 3/4") will sit almost IDENTICAL in height to a tile floor. That means if you RIP OUT the tile and then install the hardwood, you shouldn't have ANY problems with the appliances/clearance. The average cost of removing tile is roughly $2/sf. Then the average cost of subfloor preparation AFTER tile has been jacked out = $2/sf (these prices vary depending on where you live and local wages...a depressed area will have very low wages whereas a stimulated economy is going to have high wages). If we *assume (again...numbers off the top of my head to make a point) you have a 300sf kitchen (my assumption...) then you simply times 300sf x $4/sf = $1200 to remove and prepare the kitchen. If someone will do it for less then you are getting one HECK of a deal. To raise the island and the dishwasher and the counter top height and then the plumbing and electrical that sits UNDERNEATH the island = a lot more than the removal of the tile. And that ASSUMES that NOTHING goes wrong. That ASSUMES the counter top is NOT broken (this happens more times than you can imagine). Please post photos of your space so that we can help with the transition of the floors.
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amberm145
8 years ago
How much too tall is it? There are usually leveling feet on DWs, so you can probably shrink it down a little. A new counter could help if you put little spacers under it to raise it a smidge higher than the tops of the cabinets.
catspa_NoCA_Z9_Sunset14
8 years ago
We had this problem last year. Couldn't replace the Bosch with another Bosch (unless it was ADA), but found a KitchenAid at Lowe's (non-ADA) that was about 1/2" shorter and just fit (and it was on sale!).
PRO
Taylor's Cabinets & Interiors
8 years ago
Pull the counter, pull the cabinets, raise the cabinets up by a little more than the floor thickness. Put the cabinets back in, put the counters back on and install your new dishwasher.

This is why you always run flooring under the dishwasher. To do otherwise is criminal.
amberm145
8 years ago
Taylor, not running the flooring under the dishwasher makes it difficult/impossible to remove for repair or replacement. But running it under the DW causes this issue. For example, before redoing the floor, there was 36" from floor to underside of counter. Adding 1" of tile to the floor makes the space from floor to counter only 35". If your dishwasher was 35.5" high, it will no longer fit. Or if you have a 35" dishwasher, no problem. But then if you have to replace the DW, you're limited to ones that fit in 35" or less.
PRO
Taylor's Cabinets & Interiors
8 years ago
And if you tile up to a dishwasher that's sitting under granite/estone/solid surface, good luck getting that thing out. With a laminate top you have a chance of getting it out because it will give a little.

When you redo a floor, you have to take into account the dishwasher/stoves/refrigerators heights.

And most all consumer dishwashers will fit an opening from 34 to 36ish.
PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
8 years ago
Unfortunately, this is a common problem. If you hate the tops anyway, fix it right.
Darcy Kroemer
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanks for the advice everyone!

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